Two cases of mad cow disease in the United States have caused a stir among scientists, because they don't appear to have followed the usual pattern of development, the Associated Press reports.

The disease, discovered in Texas and Alabama, may be a different strain that appears spontaneously, the wire service quotes scientists as saying. Additionally, the dangerous lesions known as prions weren't detected to act the same way in the U.S. cattle. It is these lesions that deposit the plaque that kills brain cells, but this didn't happen with the two test animals.

There have only been a few cases of mad cow disease reported in the United States, leading government officials in late April to issue a statement that testing and control programs for the disease have been successful. This is in contrast to Europe, where thousands of cattle have been destroyed in the past 25 years.

Although the differences in the disease in the cattle have prompted scientific curiosity, the A.P. says that U.S. government officials aren't changing any procedures. "It's most important right now, till the science tells us otherwise, that we treat this as BSE regardless," the wire service quotes U.S. Agriculture Department chief veterinarian John Clifford as saying.

Source: http://health.msn.com

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